F Yeats-Brown describes a day pig-sticking in Bengal Lancer. If only his horse was faster he might win the Kadir Cup he muses.
There is a curious trophy at Barmeath: boars’ tusks mounted on a silver stand. It was won by my grandfather’s uncle , George Leopold Bryan. He was called Leopold after his mother’s friend the King of the Belgians. This entry explains why his surname became Bryan from 1880 until 1911, when it reverted to Bellew.
“Major George Leopold Bryan, 4th Baron Bellew of Barmeath was born on 22 January 1857. He was the son of Edward Joseph Bellew, 2nd Baron Bellew of Barmeath and Augusta Mary Bryan. He married Elaine Carlisle Leach, daughter of John Benjamin Leach, on 9 April 1927. He died on 15 June 1935 at age 78 at London, England, without issue.
He was given the name of George Leopold Bellew at birth. He fought in the Second Afghan War between 1878 and 1879. On 13 October 1880 his name was legally changed to George Leopold Bryan by Royal Licence, under the terms of the will of his uncle, George Leopold Bryan. He fought in the Nile Expedition between 1884 and 1885. He gained the rank of Lieutenant in the 10th Hussars. He gained the rank of Major in the 10th Hussars. He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.) of County Kilkenny. He fought in the Boer War between 1900 and 1901. He held the office of High Sheriff of County Louth in 1902. He succeeded as the 4th Baron Bellew of Barmeath, co. Louth[I., 1848] on 15 July 1911. He succeeded as the 10th Baronet Bellew, of Barmeath, co. Louth [I., 1688] on 15 July 1911. He fought in the First World War. He held the office of Representative Peer [Ireland] in 1914.” (thepeerage.com)
He was given the name of George Leopold Bellew at birth. He fought in the Second Afghan War between 1878 and 1879. On 13 October 1880 his name was legally changed to George Leopold Bryan by Royal Licence, under the terms of the will of his uncle, George Leopold Bryan. He fought in the Nile Expedition between 1884 and 1885. He gained the rank of Lieutenant in the 10th Hussars. He gained the rank of Major in the 10th Hussars. He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.) of County Kilkenny. He fought in the Boer War between 1900 and 1901. He held the office of High Sheriff of County Louth in 1902. He succeeded as the 4th Baron Bellew of Barmeath, co. Louth[I., 1848] on 15 July 1911. He succeeded as the 10th Baronet Bellew, of Barmeath, co. Louth [I., 1688] on 15 July 1911. He fought in the First World War. He held the office of Representative Peer [Ireland] in 1914.” (thepeerage.com)
He is buried in the Catholic cemetery in Mortlake not far from the explorer Richard Burton. I visited in September 2015 and wrote A Grave Matter.
My grandfather told me his uncle (Uncle Gee) had won the Kadir Cup three times and so was able to retain the trophy in perpetuity. As so often in oral family history this isn’t wholly correct. The tusks are a different trophy that he retained, possibly having won it three times. However, Uncle Gee did win the Kadir Cup, in 1882, on Grey Dawn. He also won the Ganges Cup in 1880 and again in 1882 but the tusks can hardly be described as a cup.
I had little idea of how a pig-sticking competition was organised and F Y-B describes it vividly. It seems to have given great pleasure to all the participants except the boar.
Was he the last Bellew to live at Jenkinstown ?
That’s a good question. My grandfather grew up at Jenkinstown and, I think, was given the place by Uncle Gee. He was living there with my grandmother and father during the Troubles but then went to live in England returning to Ireland in 1938 to live at Barmeath. The Jenkinstown estate was bought by the Land Commission but as nobody wanted to farm it, it was given to the Forestry Commission. Barmeath escaped this fate as the surrounding farms were larger.
The remains of Jenkinstown were for sale recently A very odd house.This is where Thomas Moore picked the rose from and wrote The Last Rose of Summer later on.I have a heavy silver cream jug given to my grandmother as a present ,from Lord Bellew.In the 60,s I remember Elaine,Lady Bellew
https://christopherbellew.com/the-last-rose-of-summer/
Here’s a coincidence. I went to the Mortlake cemetery recently to look for the grave of my great grandmother Eliza who was, as you know, the illegitimate daughter of George “Punch” Bryan. I found the grave and it is also close to the Burton mausoleum. I didn’t notice the Bellew tomb but they must be quite close to each other. I think Eliza must have been George Leopold’s ( half) great aunt. Perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that she was buried there -she was, after all, acknowledged by the Bryan/Bellews.
Re Jenkinstown House. It is certainly a very odd house. It was built in a kind of Regency Gothic style but, apparently, so badly constructed that parts of it fell down sometime after the Bellews inherited it. What remains is ,I think, one wing, including a former chapel, and part of the central front. When I went there a few years ago, the then owner, the singer Jimmy McArthy, showed me round. He had an organ (which he played to demonstrate acoustics ) in a large hall to the left of the front door and he had installed a recording studio in the former chapel. The entrance to the house was removed at some stage and is now in front of a school in Kilkenny. Jimmy told me that Thomas Moore was so short that he was asked to stand on a table when he sang at aristocratic parties, including, I assume, in Jenkinstown House.
Mark Bence-Jones (Burke’s Guide to Country Houses, published 1978) describes it as “pasteboard Gothic”.